To think a lot of people earning 6 figures aren’t actually that smart, just lucky?

[SnarkyDenimFox]

I’ve met plenty of high earners and honestly, a lot of them don’t seem any sharper than the rest of us. Right place, right time, right connections. AIBU to think it’s often luck, not talent?

DH has earned close to this amount and I am far better academically qualified but earn well below him. DH is confident, gets on well with all sorts of people, has far better interpersonal skills than me. If he was more of a risk taker I think he would earn more. He works really hard in a high pressure, but not life or death, environment.

I know other high earners who are very bright academically, more of those tbh, they are very driven, have great focus, excellent memory and analytical skills, went to top universities and have never taken their foot off the gas. I do not envy them one penny, their jobs are either very dull or very high stakes and they work incredibly hard.

I think talent plus getting on with others is key. Ability to take risks can also be important.

Very rare to be able to earn lots of money from an interesting job that lots of people would enjoy.

It doesn’t affect us directly, I just find it interesting how much people assume big earnings automatically mean big brains.

Thinking on it though, lots is luck, luck to be born with a level of intelligence, luck to be free of significant disabilities, luck to have a stable education, luck to be free of trauma (although lots of successful people do have some trauma I think), luck to not be in a country caught up in war or famine, luck to be in a stable western democracy… really depends on your take doesn’t it? Certain groups of people have more luck than others.

Most of that is irrelevant and we're talking about comparative earnings etc here in the the UK, so wars, famines, and poverty stricken countries aren't really relevant factors. They would only be relevant if you were comparing UK workers with workers in developing countries, which we're not.

DH is a high earner, not quite six figures but he does well and he says it’s luck. Hard work too in my opinion, but he’s modest. We both grew up very poor and honestly it was more fear of being stuck in a shithole that motivated us to work over any kind of actual drive. I was a high earner pre kids but I sacked it off to be a self employed tutor and stay with my kids. I also have always hated working for other people and am a shit employee.

I am more book smart than DH and have a much better academic record, but he is a way better employee and is way better with people. I think that’s what has got him so far in his career plus luck. Some of the higher ups I’ve met who are on serious money (six figures plus bonuses) are absolute fucking melts! Must be nepo hires or they’re hiding their superior intellect incredibly well…

Agree with this!

I’m low six 6 figures and that’s because I’ve

• strategically chosen moves which would further my career and salary (moved out of charities into private, done secondments)
• said yes to lots of things so that I’m visible and known for performing / delivering results
• I’m sociable and friendly so people like having me on their team
• I’m relatively smart (good degree)

however it’s nothing to do with who I know as I’m the only person I know in my wider circle who is in my profession.

Do I work harder than in-laws who are nurses? Probably not but it’s a different kind of work and my hours in a week can be longer.

I agree with this. Both DDs worked in very low paid NMW jobs straight after uni, but stayed in their degree fields. Built their networks, developed a wide related skills base on their CVs and are now in very well-paid senior management jobs, within touching distant to the exec jobs.

Exactly, when you break it down like that, so much of what gets labelled as ‘merit’ is really circumstantial luck. Being born in the right place, time or conditions sets the stage before personal effort even comes into it.

@SnarkyDenimFox

I don't assume big earnings mean big brains.

I assume big earnings means lots of hard work, sacrifices and thoughtful decision making.

Luck is definitely an element eg in the case of good health etc, or perhaps education (because no child can choose their education) but I am surrounded by people who are brilliant at what they do and get paid accordingly. I work in Financial Services and I hear people get slated for their big salaries all the time but I honestly admire some of my colleagues and how their brains work and how much information they can hold in their heads.

Agree OP.

Privilege goes a long way. Stuctual inequalities are far reaching and give people a disadvantage and by the same token those who have access a huge advantage. The colour of your skin, what you talk about, who you have access too, childhood trauma, coping abilities, learned behaviour, dependents.

Often those who ‘succeed’ in life have had myriad tiny advantages that are often put down to hard work and a can-do attitude.

"Often those who ‘succeed’ in life have had myriad tiny advantages that are often put down to hard work and a can-do attitude."

The 2 don't have to be mutually exclusive. A privileged person may still have worked very hard.

Oh that's definitely true. I feel that's not how people are using it when they talk about luck in this way, though. There's quite a bit of 'well you were presented with an opportunity...' which ignores the work that goes into placing yourself in front of that opportunity!

While luck plays a part, high earners tend to be more driven. They will put themselves out there to take opportunities that others will pass up. They will take more risks and are more comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity.

If you play it safe all the time, then you are not going to earn the same rewards.

It's a combination of determination, vision and self-confidence.

My DH (retired now) was a high earner and he had all of these but especially the last. There were periods early in his career which weren't so lucky, but in the final 10 years he saw an opportunity to do something different & innovative which did incredibly well and became a market leader. His high intelligence along with an unshakeable belief in his own abilities served him well. And he was always prepared to put the hours in.

They may well have worked hard but in my experience privilege is not acknowledged as a fundamental aspect of their success.

I definitely think emotional intelligence plays a significant role in climbing the career ladder. Personally, I’ve never been one for ‘brown-nosing’, I tend to call things as I see them. That approach hasn’t exactly landed me higher-paying roles, but I’ve never been able to play the corporate game just to get ahead.

I have a strange kind of respect for those who can. I’ve seen time and again how people move up by telling the right people exactly what they want to hear, even when it’s complete bollocks. Every time a colleague gets promoted or gets a better position ( who doesn’t deserve it!), I feel a momentary twinge of regret, but it passes quickly. I know I couldn’t live with myself if I had to fake my way through.

That said, I do well for myself, I’m in the top 1% income bracket and my job is relatively stressfree, so overall, I’m content. Still, the thought of earning more is always appealing. It’s a trade off, authenticity versus ambition. And for now, I choose authenticity..

Bitter much

Being emotionally intelligent, taking risks, building networks to get ahead does require big brains.

What do you mean by big brains.

The most wealthy don't have to lift a finger, only fools and horses work.

Having gone to a very academic secondary school, with lots of academic high achievers, it’s interesting how things have played out.

In general the very very high achievers (4 A* at a-level) types are not massive earners. They’re either academics and/or just not into pursuing high-paying careers.

The ones who have gone on into high paying careers, are the people who did well but not amazingly (three A to Bs at A level) but what they do have are - emotional intelligence, communication skills, extroverted personality and drive. And some degree of luck.

I am smart, and there’s an element of luck, but 99% of the reason I earn 6 figures in my mid 30s is because I’ve been strategically smart, put myself in front of the right people and focused my efforts on things that will further my earning potential. It’s been less about how clever I am or how good I am at my job (although I think I am good at it) and more about networking and leveraging the things I’m good at, making my opportunities and luck. I recognise this in a lot of my peers who earn the same or more.

I see so many of my colleagues not doing the same when I can see obvious (to me) opportunities for them that they’re choosing to ignore.

So I think there is an element of smarts, but different to book smarts.

As well as the traits that other PPs have noted,l above, it is also ambition. I have met clever people in all my roles, from working at a supermarket as a teen, to now, as a director in a completely unrelated field. I just wasn't satisfied with my early jobs and kept looking for the next step and was willing to study and move location to take opportunities. If ypu do that you put yourself above most of the working population.

Not in my case, unfortunately. Although I don't seem to have most of the criteria on this thread, perhaps I am the exception that proves the rule. Having said all that, I did learn very early on I would have to 'fake it to make' on the confidence front, so I agree actual confidence, or giving the impression of confidence is key.